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Pope John Paul II - Jon Voight
Karol Wojtyla up to his election as Pope John Paul II - Cary Elwes
Cardinal Adam Sapieha - James Cromwell
Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski - Christopher Lee
Stanislaw Dziwisz - Wenanty Nosul
Cardinal Agostino Casaroli (Vatican Secretary of State) - Ben Gazzara

directed by John Kent Harrison

This is a touching, detailed and very intimate portrayal of Pope John Paul II. Though produced for television, it has some very fine acting, and was filmed on location in Poland and Italy.

The pope's early life and work in Poland as a priest, bishop and cardinal are framed as a flashback at the time when the Holy Father was shot in St. Peter's Square (May 13, 1981). There are a few quick glimpses of his childhood before we are transported back to Krakow, Poland in 1939. Karol is a young man, interested in the theater, when the Nazis invade Poland. He and his friends struggle with how to respond to this invasion, which not only threatens their Jewish friends and neighbors (including some in Karol's close circle of friends), but seeks to destroy Poland as a people and a culture in its entirety. While searching for answers to these questions, he finds himself finally drawn to the priesthood.

There are many wonderful events and ideas woven into these scenes from his youth. We see him as a person with great depth, a fine mind, a deep faith and a great sense of humor. In the movie, his views on a number of issues are expressed (such as his philosophical and theological objections to Communism), but we are also able to see where they came from because the movie gives them some context.

Karol Wojtyla is a rather unconventional priest and bishop who leads camping trips with young people into the mountains for the purpose of recreation and formation. He speaks to them openly about sexuality (this scene is very beautifully done - I let my children watch this). He wiggles around the rules of the Communists in order to keep pressure on the anti-religious government and keep the people strong in their faith. One of the highlights of the film, for us, was a scene in which he simply removes the picture of Our Lady from a frame (in order to comply with rules about not displaying religious images in public) while still holding a traditional religious parade through the streets of Krakow with everyone dressed in their full regalia, the frame fully ornamented with flowers and ribbons and everyone singing with all their hearts.

There are so many interesting and delightful elements to the story that I can only touch on a few here. I found the camraderie between the archbishops of Krakow (Sapieha and then Wojtyla) and Warsaw (Wyszynski) particularly interesting. Another beautiful scene is during the papal conclave when Wojtyla realizes that he may be a candidate for the papacy. He seeks guidance from Wyszynski who reminds him of the story of Quo Vadis. It is difficult to explain the beauty of this scene, but it is thoughtfully done and is subtly pivotal to the story.

When Karol Wojtyla is elected pope, Jon Voight takes over in the leading role. The latter half of the film portrays events that are more familiar to the American public. The director personally interviewed Pope John Paul II's longtime secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz and his spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls to uncover many beautiful and touching details about his papacy that were included in the film. The actors playing the Pope's personal secretary and the Vatican Secretary of State are exquisitely cast and wonderfully portrayed.

The movie doesn't attempt to record every event of his 26 year papacy. Rather, it paints a picture of his personality, of his faith and of his challenges and struggles - whether with Communism, materialism or painful injuries and illnesses. Particularly memorable are his visits to his homeland and his strong connection with the youth there.

On the whole, I would consider the movie suitable for family viewing with the exception of some shooting and other violence (when the Holy Father is shot in St. Peter's Square, during the Nazi occupation and, less so, during the Communist rule) that might be unsuitable for younger children. I would estimate that this would have received a PG rating if it had been shown in the theaters. This also would make a fine introduction to the life of this great pope for those who would like to go on to read more detailed biographies, such as Witness to Hope by George Wiegel.

The only down-side is relatively minor, but I believe bears mentioning for movie buffs out there. Though the filmmakers took excellent advantage of beautiful architecture in Rome and Poland, there are just a few crowd scenes, with dubbed-in backgrounds, that came out looking rather fake.

Available from johnpaul2movie.com

This is a fascinating (and very quick read) e-book that briefly outlines the stories of popes who resigned or were deposed (most of them in much more tumultuous circumstances than Pope Benedict XVI. It's a nice way to get a quick glimpse at how complex our church history is (which offers some great perspective for the struggles of our own days) as well as a nice overview of what the papacy means to us and where it comes from. Also included are a brief historical and biblical overview of the origins of the papacy and a lovely series of quotes from popes throughout the centuries on the concept of the papacy itself.

Although it is clearly aimed at adults, my high schoolers and I enjoyed reading and discussing this together. (There are definitely some uncomfortable stories about the behaviors of bad popes in the past that you may not be comfortable getting into with younger children.)

This is an expensive, but in-depth conversational Spanish program that is very popular with homeschoolers. The text, test booklet and workbook come with nine audio tapes or CDs (depending on the option you choose when you purchase the program) and an optional CD ROM and audio CD set. These options should be looked at very carefully when ordering as the operators often don't know which set is which.

Several months ago we decided to invest in a Spanish program. The question was, which one? My children are quite young, but have been exposed to Spanish during our years in San Diego, from stories such as The Lady of Guadalupe and the Josefina Montoya books from the American Girls series, and the Catholic Parish in downtown Milwaukee which we attend most Sundays which has a vibrant Hispanic community. When my oldest daughter (at age 7 1/2) began showing an interest in learning Spanish, my husband and I thought it was important to take advantage of her interest now, especially since childhood is supposed to be an excellent time to introduce a foreign language.

First we looked at the The Learnables, which is another homeschool-friendly program, but which is completely book-bound: the book has only pictures and the audio portion is in Spanish only. It's a neat idea, but not what we were looking for.

We wanted something that could be listened to in the car (especially to and from daily Mass) or while the children were playing - even when they didn't have the book open.

We heard a little about the Power Glide program (mostly the Latin edition) from fellow homeschoolers and learned that although it covered enough material for a 2-year high school course, that it was enjoyable for young children as well. That was enough for us - we decided to try it.

I have to say that we're really, really happy with it. Although we've hardly cracked the books yet (that will come in time, I'm sure), we've listened to the CDs over and over and are beginning to pick up some of the language. The CDs are filled with classic folk tales and fairy tales in alternating Spanish and English, stories in English that contain some recognizable Spanish words (that can be understood from the context), short (and often funny) conversations in alternating languages and other creative way of introducing Spanish (including some exercises that are designed to be used with the book). Different voices provide a diversity of accents and dialects to broaden exposure to the language.

All the material is suitable for family listening and my own children enjoy the stories enough to request them over and over.

Although the price is rather high (around $150 for the CD set with the CD ROM), we felt that, as a reusable program for all of our children for all of their school years, it was a worthwhile investment.

The cardboard container that the CDs arrive in is rather inadequate - especially for care use. We picked up an inexpensive zip-up CD folder to protect the CDs.

Prayer Book for Catholics is a handy, simple small book filled with Catholic traditional prayers and more. The prayers are grouped by category: Basic prayers, Blessed Trinity, Litanies, Mary, Saints, Angels, Mass, Eucharistic Adoration. And more: prayers for throughout the day, for everyday, for the Church and the world, and even to help us with reading and understanding sacred scriptures.

Basic prayers begin with the Sign of the Cross and include the Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity and the Apostle's Creed. Blessed Trinity prayers include the beautiful prayer of Saint Augustine:

Breathe in me O Holy Spirit,
that my thoughts may all be holy;
Act in me O Holy Spirit,
that my work, too, may be holy;
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit,
that I love but what is holy;
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit,
to defend all that is holy;
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
that I always may be holy.
Amen.

There are almost twenty Marian prayers alone, and more than 30 pages of saints' prayers: prayers to saints and prayers written by the saints. Prayers for everyday and throughout the day include prayers for the family, for welcoming guests, for all sorts of different circumstances, prayers for the sick and departed, and the Stations of the Cross prayers.

The last chapter--Basics Tenets of the Catholic Faith--is especially useful in this basic volume. The Seven Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, the Two Great Commandments, the eight Beatitudes, the Corporal and Spiritual works of Mercy, the Precepts of the Church, the Gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit: they are all there. The Capital Sins and the virtues they oppose, and the Cardinal and Theological virtues finish it off. There is also an index to make finding prayers, saints, or prayer intentions very easy and quick!

In the homeschool, Prayer Book for Catholics will serve as a useful and quick reference guide for prayers and basics of the faith. This book will also make a nice gift for someone who just came into the Church, or a child leaving for college or married life.

(Note: the publisher's site lists it as a "leatherette" but my reviewer's copy is a paperback.)